Head of Geography

Reports to: Vice Principal

Start date: September 2019 or sooner

Location: Ark Kings Academy

Salary: Ark MPS/UPS Outside London (£24,313 – £41,366) + TLR2b

Deadline: Friday 5th April at 9:00am

Ofsted: Good in all areas (2016)

Ark Kings – a small school, big family; transforming the lives of our students

In 2015, Ark Kings Academy was named as the most improved academy in the country, and was rated ‘Good’ in all areas by Ofsted in October 2016.  In April 2017 we moved into our brand new school building and in September 2017 we became an all through school with students from Reception to year 11. It is therefore a very exciting time to be joining Ark Kings as part of our schools’ transformation. We are looking to recruit Head of Geography to be play an integral part in our journey to outstanding.

As Head of Geography, you will lead, develop and manage the effective delivery of an outstanding curriculum which enables the highest level of student progress and attainment. You will lead the professional community of Geography to ensure high attainment across the school.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Management of the Subject Team

·         Build and lead a high performing team

·         Support, develop and line manage the department’s staff, through the provision of CPD, inset training days, supervising NQTs, ITT students and support staff, etc.

·         Monitor, evaluate and continually improve the quality of planning, teaching, and assessment of all members of the Geography team

·         Manage departmental budget, resources and learning environment

·         Lead behaviour management in the department, securing strong routines for learning, consistent with the school’s policy, and liaising with tutors and parents when necessary

·         Develop strong partnerships and ensure regular communication with parents

Improving Teaching and Learning

·         Be accountable for student progress in Geography across the school at all key stages, ensuring that all students achieve results in line with, or better than, value-added predictions

·         Lead joint practice development across the department subject teams, ensuring that outstanding practice is shared with all staff in the department and the wider school

·         Model outstanding teaching and lead collaborative planning and development, including the sharing of resources and best practice within the department

·         Monitor the work of the department through rigorous and regular lesson observations, work scrutinies, and provide detailed, constructive feedback

·         Monitor the identification of and provision for students with individual needs, and develop differentiated learning and teaching methods and schemes of learning

·         Liaise with other department heads on a regular basis to ensure curriculum and learning goals are met across all subject areas and to exploit cross-year and cross-curricular links

·         Keep up to date with any changes in learning and teaching related to Geography, DfE guidance, assessment regulations, etc. and ensure staff are kept informed

Curriculum and Assessment

·         Be responsible for maintaining and tracking student progress across the department, analysing all relevant data to make data-driven changes to the curriculum design and intervention strategies and using the data to monitor the performance of subject staff

·         Plan, deliver, monitor and evaluate the curriculum provision and enrichment for all year groups within the department

·         Predict student outcomes and set ambitious targets

Teaching Responsibilities

·         Set high expectations so that all students are inspired, motivated and challenged to reach their full potential, and in doing so meet their progress and attainment targets

·         Plan and teach well-structured, differentiated lessons that are aligned to the school and/or network curriculum and cultivate every student’s intellectual curiosity

·         Use data to inform teaching and learning, identify areas for intervention and provide feedback to students, staff and families in order to promote progress and outcomes

·         Manage behaviour effectively to create a safe, respectful and nurturing environment so that students can focus on learning

·         Work collaboratively with both school and network colleagues as a committed team member, building successful, high performing teams

·         Participate actively throughout the network, by attending relevant meetings, and, as appropriate, delivering network-wide training and initiatives

·         Work with colleagues, students and families to develop a strong school community

Other

·         Carry out other reasonable tasks as directed by Principal

Person Specification: Head of Geography

Qualification Criteria

·         Qualified to teach and work in the UK

·         Degree in Geography or related subject

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

·         Experience of raising attainment in a challenging classroom environment

·         Experience of leading a team and/or developing others

·         Experience of having designed, implemented and evaluated effective, imaginative and stimulating Schemes of Work

·         Experience of improving the quality of teaching and learning through the development of schemes of work and high quality resources

·         Experience of leading successful enrichment which inspire and motivate learners

·         Experience of interpreting complex student data to drive lesson planning and student progress

·         Excellent understanding of both subject and general teaching pedagogy

·         Effective and systematic behaviour management

·         Knowledge of the national secondary education system, examinations and curriculum

Personal Characteristics

·         Genuine passion for and a belief in the potential of every student

·         Deep commitment to Ark’s mission of providing an excellent education to every student, regardless of background

·         Excellent interpersonal, planning and organisational skills

·         Resilient, motivated and committed to achieving excellence

·         Reflective and proactive in seeking feedback to constantly improve practice

·         Commitment to regular and on-going professional development and training to establish outstanding classroom practice

·         Commitment to and understanding of professionalism in line with the National Teaching Standards

Other

·         Commitment to equality of opportunity and the safeguarding and welfare of all students

·         Willingness to undertake training

·         This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in our academies.  In order to meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process. This process is outlined here, but can be provided in more detail if requested. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.